Kolak leaves her mark in javelin qualifying

Sara Kolak led the qualifying round at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz with 61.93m

It is no surprise who finished top of qualifying in the women's javelin at the European Athletics U23 Championships in Bydgoszcz today as Croatia's Olympic champion Sara Kolak showed she really does mean business.

The biggest star at these championships opened with a distance that would have met the standard of 53.50m to reach tomorrow's final but that was not good enough.

"I wasn't really satisfied with the first throw so I made a fault on purpose," said Kolak after the foul. "I wanted to do a better one to catch a feeling for tomorrow."

Next round, the world-leader reached an impressive 61.93m and she could then be happy and able to prepare for her bid for another gold medal.

"The 61m is a good result. I am heading back to training and getting some rest. Tomorrow, it's a big day. I don't feel pressure. I am focusing on myself and throwing," said the 22-year-old.

Her biggest rival was always going to be the woman she replaced as world-leader when she threw her 68.43m in Lausanne: Turkey's Eda Tugsuz.

And indeed Tugsuz, who has a season's best of 67.21m, finished qualifying in second with 61.81m from her only throw.

The final, scheduled for 7pm local time on Sunday, should be one of the events of the whole week.